Inferno
by Madame-DeathScythe
Summary: The first time she saw Azula, Katara knew she recognized her from somewhere. Pointless little drabble about Katara's observations about the Fire Nation siblings. Hinted Zutara.


**So apparently it's Zutara week on tumblr and I didn't know until like...now. Heh. **

**Anyway, this isn't for a prompt, but I wrote it a while back and forgot to post it. So, since it's Zutara week and I haven't done any of the prompts, here's my contribution.**

**Happy Zutara week!**

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The first time she saw Azula, Katara knew she recognized her from somewhere.

Upon finding out that the girl was the younger sister of none other than Zuko, Katara could have slapped herself for not seeing it right away. The resemblance was so striking it was almost impossible not to see. They had the same pale skin to contrast their dark hair, sharp features, eyes of burning gold. The eyes are the windows to the soul, they say, and if she looked close enough, she noticed, she could see that their souls were just like the element; burning and passionate. There was an unearthly gleam to their eyes, almost, is if they really _were_ on fire. With all of that, it was hard to deny their relation. The constant sneer set it in stone; it was impossible to deny that this deadly weapon of a girl was the Fire Lord's acclaimed daughter. Zuko's prodigy sister.

Though she resented his betrayal in Ba Sing Se, Katara couldn't bring herself to blame Zuko entirely. Had the situation been reversed, and she'd been forced to choose between an almost stranger and Sokka, she surely would have chosen her family in a heartbeat, evil or not. Maybe, she thought, their loyalty to their family was something else they had in common. Still, she held a grudge against her former enemy, even after he finally made the decision to betray his father. Not because of his history of chasing them around the globe or fear that he'd turn his back on them, but more of a personal fear that he'd betray _her_ and her alone, the same way he had in the catacombs. She couldn't tell exactly what made her feel that way, or even how he might do so, but, nevertheless, the fear was there. Until she finally forgave him.

After that, Katara saw undeniable differences in Zuko and his sadistic sibling. She saw that, though Zuko's features were as defined as his sister's, they weren't nearly as harsh. The scowl was gone from his face, allowing his more attractive traits to shine through, but Azula's remained and continued to violently mar her beautiful face into an angry mess. They still had their liquid gold eyes, and they still burned. But it wasn't the same.

In Azula's eyes, Katara saw an inferno of hatred, a fierce desire for power. Azula's eyes were a swirl of lethal flames performing a dance of death. And she saw shadows, shadows darker than the darkest part of her own heart, swaying ominously with the flames.. There was no peace in the Fire Lord's daughter.

But his eyes, Zuko's eyes, were different. Seeing him in the catacombs at Ba Sing Se, the young waterbender noticed that his flame seemed to have flickered out, as if someone (possibly her, she thought ashamedly), had thrown icy water on it, leaving him in the dark and chilled to the bone with nothing but weak tendrils of smoke left to remind him that there ever was a flame in the first place. But even then, he seemed to regret having burned so much; having burned _her_. And just when she'd trusted him, just when she'd gotten close enough, he burst into flames again and she pulled back, but not before she caught fire.

The next time they met, his spark was fully reignited, but she was still searing. And as anyone would be, she was more cautious around fire after being reduced to little more than a pile of ashes. Still, that didn't stop her from noticing. The flames seemed to have calmed, but not been extinguished; not even close. The rage, his sister and father's rage, was gone from him, replaced by a passion Katara knew belonged to him and only him, one that rivaled even her own. The fire no longer looked dangerous and destructive. There were no shadows, no sadistic tango scorching everything in its path. this fire, she decided, though not tame, was safe. And so she slowly inched toward it, toward him, until she let the flames embrace her entirely. But she wasn't burned.

It was then that she realized Zuko was nothing like his sister.

It was then that she first trusted him.

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**So I guess that's more a drabble than anything, but I liked it. Sorry for the extensive fire metaphors. They just sort of happened. Anyway, I may do something for the Zutara week prompts later. Maybe. I don't know. Anyway, hope you liked it :D**


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